This course introduces some of the main legal, policy and enforcement issues relating to drug use, both locally and internationally. Australian drug policies have long been constructed so as to comply with relevant international conventions. Indeed, the use of certain drugs has been constructed as a criminal offence in Australia due largely to events on the international stage. Despite its origins elsewhere, the prohibitionist approach has dominated Australian drug policy for the greater part of the past century, charging the criminal justice system with primary responsibility for regulating drugs. In recent decades, however, policy responses to drug use have incorporated a broader range of principles and theoretical understandings. The fact that criminalisation has done little to suppress the demand for an ever increasing variety of drugs has brought the harms associated with drugs into sharper focus. These include harms directly attributable to criminalisation and those associated with the hyper-profitable and ultra-violent criminal market that emerged to supply the ever-present demand for intoxicating substances.

In this course, you will study a range of social and policy responses to drug use from the vantage of historical, legal, criminological and health perspectives. This includes focusing on issues at the street level in the immediate urban environment through to the broader global context including the role of international conventions in Australian policy making.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

On successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Critically assess the historical basis of Australian drug policies and laws and the means by which they are formulated in contemporary Australia; • Demonstrate knowledge of Australia’s key drug policies and legislative frameworks; • Critically reflect on a range of different approaches to drug policy, including the principles of harm minimisation and its position on a continuum that includes the sharply contrasting positions of legalisation and ‘zero tolerance’; • Demonstrate an awareness of emerging drug use trends, particularly among young people; • Assess the roles and responsibilities of the various agencies and organisations charged with creating, overseeing and enacting drug policy, as well as those who deal with the consequences of these policies; • Identify specific drug offences under both Victoria and Commonwealth laws and apply these to solving fact-based problems; • Compare domestic drug policies with alternatives implemented internationally; and • Debate the future of Australian drug policy.

Overview of Learning Activities

This course is generally delivered face-to-face. In this mode, learning activities may include lectures, seminars, tutorials, guest speakers presentations, case studies, videos, and student lead discussions.

The course may also (or instead) be delivered online in a series of modules, which provide online reading/research and online activities.

Overview of Learning Resources

A textbook or case book may be prescribed for this course, and you will be notified by week 1 if this is the case.

RMIT will provide you with other resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.

Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the learning outcomes of this course and on your development against the program capabilities. Assessment may include essays, quizzes, online activities, and group work. Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.

If you have a long term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or the Disability Liaison Unit if you would like to find out more.